1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to pressure garments and methods for making them. By the term “pressure garments” is meant garments which apply pressure to specific areas of the human or animal body for medical reasons, such as the management or treatment of venous ulceration, lymphoedema, deep vein thrombosis or burns, or for operational reasons such as in G-suits or sportswear.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, pressure garments are made as simple structures such as support hose, where the requirement is expressed as being simply to apply a level of pressure which is adequate but not too much, and this is achieved by experience or by trial and error. Of course, a given size of support hose will stretch more on patients with heavier build than on those of slight build, and since the degree of pressure exerted depends on the degree of stretch, a heavier built patient will experience more pressure than a lighter built patient, and the notion of “one size fits all” works out in practice as “one size fits nobody perfectly”.
G-suits, and in particular space suits, tend to be custom made and are fitted with dynamic pressure control, for example to compress the lower body under high downward gravitational loading in order to prevent drainage of blood from the brain to the lower body. These garments are very expensive.